The Ladybugs Jumped Over the Moon
by RockSunner
Summary: Chat Noir sat alone, looking up at the moon. Would anything ever be the same again? Spoilers for "Chat Blanc." One shot.


Chat Noir sat alone, looking up at the moon. Would anything ever be the same again? Spoilers for "Chat Blanc." One-shot.

**The Ladybugs Jumped Over the Moon**

Chat Noir sat alone, looking up at the moon. It was cratered and cracked. Paris was deeply flooded, with the Eiffel Tower on its side. He was sitting on one of the Tower's uprooted legs.

There didn't seem to be a single other person alive. He had done all of this, while akumatized. It was all his fault – or perhaps the fault of his hideously evil father, Gabriel Agreste. Hawk Moth.

Tears stung his eyes. Would anything ever be the same again?

Ladybug had gone off into a portal with Bunnyx, promising to fix everything. She would change the past, alter the chain of events so that none of this ever happened. Then he and this whole screwed-up world would cease to exist. That would be a good thing.

A stream of magical ladybugs appeared from thin air, blasting out in every direction, even up to the moon. In an instant the moon was whole again, the city was no longer flooded, and Chat stood on the lowest deck of the righted Eiffel Tower.

Below him, standing motionless in shock, was Ladybug, with Hawk Moth beside her. Ladybug's right arm was outstretched toward him. Hawk Moth had raised an arm to cover his face.

With a roar of rage, Chat Noir launched himself from the platform. He snatched off Hawk Moth's Butterfly Miraculous pin with one hand, and brought his baton down on the head of the villain just as he began to detransform and lose his invulnerability. Gabriel crumpled to the ground and lay still.

Ladybug looked over at him. "Chat, what happened?"

Char Noir rushed to her and held her in his arms. "Marinette, my Lady! I'm so glad you're back!"

Ladybug blinked. "I died... I know I did. It happened so fast there was no time to feel pain. How did things get fixed?"

"You were here a few minutes ago, with Bunnyx. You de-akumatized me. You went off with her and fixed something else, then did the Miraculous Ladybug cure. Don't you remember?"

"I don't remember that. It wasn't me."

"You said that I shouldn't know that you're Marinette. You were going to fix that. But I still remember."

"We talked about it, Chaton. We decided it would be all right that we knew each other's identities, that we could protect each other."

"It wasn't all right, because Hawk Moth figured us out. It was a trap, all of it. My father forcing you to break off our relationship: that was just to upset you so you could be akumatized," said Chat.

"He might not have known who both of us were then, but when you transformed right in front of the mansion he must have seen it," said Ladybug.

Chat said, "In our last battle, he let us follow him back to his lair. It was another trap."

"We thought we were cornering him, but it was him cornering us," said Ladybug. "Showing you your mother's body in a coffin, setting you up to be akumatized."

"M'Lady, what will we do now? He'll tell the world who we are, unless I..."

"Don't even think about it, Chaton. We have to turn him over to the police. Killing him wouldn't solve anything. Mayura must know, too."

"Mayura... she has to be Nathalie!" said Chat. "She's always working closely with him, covering for him, keeping his secrets."

"We'll get the police to arrest her, too. If she hasn't already fled," said Ladybug.

"Our covers are blown now," said Chat. "What can we do about that?"

"We have to follow the rules," said Ladybug. "There's still time for Master Fu to pick a new Ladybug and Chat Noir, and to train a new replacement as Guardian."

"Maybe we don't have to give up our kwamis," said Chat. "With Hawk Moth gone..."

"No, we have to. Mayura may escape," said Ladybug. "She's not well, so she probably can't do much. We can cover fighting her amoks until Master Fu can replace us."

"I still don't understand who that other Ladybug was," said Chat.

"Bunnyx must have brought her from another timeline," said Ladybug.

"Is there more than one?" asked Chat. "I thought she told us that it was dangerous to change the past. I thought it would cause our timeline to disappear."

"With the Miraculous Cure, anything can happen," said Ladybug. "The other me must have branched off this timeline, kept it alive for your sake."

"Her lucky charm was an eraser," said Chat. "I know... she must have erased the signature on that present you dropped off for me! That's how I first figured out your identity, and how I first realized I loved you as Marinette."

"So in her world it will take longer for us to get together," said Ladybug. "We would eventually, I'm sure. We're made for each other."

"The other you will miss out on some quality time," said Chat. "All our dates, all the dances, and the kisses..."

Ladybug drew him close and gave him a kiss. "It nearly cost the world, but I don't regret those times."

"Me neither," said Chat Noir.

They kissed again.

**The End**


End file.
